A MAN who threatened police with a long piece of wood with nails when they caught him breaking a court order has been jailed.

A restraining order barred Mark Anthony Smith, 27, from contacting his ex-partner whom he previously knifed and assaulted, Rob Galley, prosecuting, told York Crown Court.

But on March 11, police were called to a Selby house where Smith was gesturing with the 2ft wooden board at his ex-partner.

On their arrival, he waved the wood at them and was only arrested after a struggle.

Jailing him for 12 months, Judge Simon Hickey said it was a serious breach of the restraining order and that most of his 41 previous convictions were for violence.

Smith, of no fixed address, pleaded guilty to breaching the restraining order, carrying an offensive weapon and two public order offences.

For him, solicitor advocate Graham Parkin said: “When the police attended he ‘lost the plot’ in his words."

He had been walking past the house which belonged to his ex-partner’s mother.

When he saw his ex-partner there, his frustration boiled over and he behaved in the way he had, the court heard. He had not made any spoken threat, said Mr Parkin.

Mr Galley said when police saw Smith, they told him to drop the piece of wood. After a few minutes, he threw it under a car.

But he was aggressive towards them, tried to spit at one of the officers and refused to be hand-cuffed, the court was told.

He was injured as officers struggled to arrest him. Once they had restrained him, they took him to an accident and emergency department, where he continued to be aggressive towards them, swearing and threatening them.

Smith has previous convictions for harassment and assault, including assaulting the ex-partner in 2012 and 2013.